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12/05/2005:

"America, Israel Bracing for Violence From Syria"

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration and the Israeli government are preparing for a belligerent Syrian reaction to the findings of a United Nations report that is expected to accuse Damascus of masterminding the February 14 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

Israeli officials are anticipating an escalation in attacks by the Syrian- and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia on Israel's northern border with Lebanon, Israel's chief of military intelligence, Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash, disclosed during Sunday's Cabinet meeting.

Ze'evi-Farkash told the Israeli Cabinet that Hezbollah's heavy rocket attack last week on Israel's northern communities — more than 300 rockets were launched — was a response to international pressure on Syria and Iran. More pressure on Syria, he said, is likely to result in more attacks.

In Washington, American officials are preparing for an increase in cross-border infiltration of jihadists into Iraq through Syria's porous border, according to Washington insiders who have access to administration officials.

"We too will be paying a price at the Iraq-Syria border," said Edward Walker, a former assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs who also served as America's ambassador to Israel and as its deputy chief of mission in Damascus. Walker, now the president of the Washington-based Middle East Institute, said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has struck an increasingly antagonistic and defiant tone in response to Western attempts to isolate him.
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Sharon: Military option against Iran